In a tragic incident, the elephant that was stranded in the Mahanadi river in the Cuttack district died on Friday. The rescue team struggled hours to rescue the tusker.

Stranded elephant dies in Mahanadi river

According to reports, the stranded elephant was part of a herd of eleven who were spotted crossing the river on Friday morning. The tusker was caught in the strong current and left alone. The locals spotted the elephant after its trumpeting and informed the fire brigade personnel.

TV journalist, Arindam Das, dies during rescue operation

A television journalist, who was covering the incident, died after the boat to rescue a stranded elephant in the Mahanadi river capsized. Reportedly, the boat was carrying personnel of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force. The team was trying to rescue the elephant trapped in the middle of the river.

40-year-old Arindam Das, who died during the rescue operation, was the chief reported of OTV. He survived with his wife and a two-year-old son.

Along with Das, his cameraman Prabhat Sinha, and five personnel of the ODRAF were in the boat which capsized near the pillars of Mundali barrage. As per a report in The India Express, a team of eighty forest officials from 2 divisions of Odisha and members of ODRAF was part of the elephant rescue operation.

Prabhat Sinha and Das were taken to SCB Medical College and Hospital where the doctor declared Das was brought dead and Sinha is in critical condition.

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Das was an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. Condoling his death, the IIMC tweeted, “We regret to inform about the untimely demise of our alumni, Arindam Das (OJ, 2004-05) in a tragic boat accident while covering rescue operation of an elephant in Mahanadi, Odisha. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. A condolence meeting was held at @iimcdkl.”

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